Global warming speech Essay

INTRODUCTION The negative effects of global warming are slowly ruining the environment we live in. In a few decades, it is possible our Earth will be very uncomfortable to live on. I have researched the issues of global warming and have found out as much as I possibly can in order to deliver an informative speech about global warming. Global warming is an extremely important topic to me, because knowing what the negative effects of global warming are and what can be done to help solve those effects, our environment can stay safe and protected, and clearly the environment is one of the most essential parts of our daily lives. There is a significant amount of negative effects for the environment and for human life due to global warming. Global warming affects each and every one of us. We should all be concerned with what is happening to our planet. TRANSITION: We will be more inclined to help reduce the effects of global warming if we understand what these effects are†¦ 1.) Rising temperatures are more dangerous for certain areas over other areas. 2.) The rising temperatures are causing changes in our precipitation. 3.) Over time, global warming will worsen and cause more problems for us, as well as our future generations. SPEECH BODY I. The main and most detrimental effect of global warming is the increase in the global average temperature. A. In the past 100 years the Earth’s global average temperature rose by 0.98 to 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit. 1. This rise in temperature has been confirmed by at least 20 scientific communities. a. This includes all of the national academies of science of the G8 states. b. G8 is the world’s most industrialized nations working to stop the increase in global average temperature. 2. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control concludes that the increase in temperature is due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, also known as the greenhouse effect. a. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control has also concluded that the global temperatures will rise by 2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. TRANSITION: With the global average temperatures raising so much in quite a short period of time, we must be prepared for what the causes of this rise may be if there is no solution to global warming. II. The rising of the average global temperatures is extremely dangerous for those of us who live near places of frequent drought, flooding, and places of poverty. A. One effect of global warming is the reduction of summer streams flow. 1. This can be a problem in areas of frequent drought, with reduced flow of water, drought will become more frequent. B. There is also rising sea levels because of the melting of glaciers and ice masses. 1. For areas near bodies of water, this can become a major problem. There will be more flooding due to the sea levels rising over the norm. C. Another effect of global warming is more intense weather events, agricultural yields, and an increase in the ranges of disease. 1. Most of these effects will become a problem for areas of poverty. Areas of poverty will not have the shelter or tools necessary to help protect themselves against these damaging effects of global warming. TRANSITION: The rising global average temperature of global warming is the main cause for many of the effects that global warming is having on our environment and our species. III. The rising temperatures caused by global warming are changing precipitation patterns. A. The change in precipitation will play a major role in the Earth’s climate. 1. The change in climate will have lasting impacts on the people living and dealing with the climate. 2. The Earth may become a very uncomfortable place to live in the upcoming decades, with increased precipitation and harsh weather. TRANSITION: There are many other effects of global warming, I have only named a few, the few that I feel will affect us in our own lifetimes. CONCLUSION: However, as global warming continues to become more pronounced and temperatures continue to rise, the negative effects on our environment will become more and more of a problem to us and to our future generations.

Green Mountain Coffee Roaster Essay

During the fourth quarter of 2010 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters had some accounting irregularities become known to the public. Green Mountain’s problems all started from how they recognized income, though intercompany inventory and third party vendor. After the SEC inquiry, Green Mountain’s accounting irregularities spanned three fiscal years and three fiscal quarters. Starting with fiscal year 2007 and running through the third fiscal quarter of 2010. In total Green Mountain had five areas of their financial statements in which they did not follow GAAP. The first issue overstated $7.6 million dollars of inventory during the time period, because of an incorrect standard of cost (Dulong, 2010). Next they had a $1.4 million overstated income, because of incorrect accrual amount of incentive programs expenses. Third issue overstated income by $1 million dollars, because of timing classification of historical revenue royalties from third party vendors. Fourth issue oversta ted $800,000 of income, because of incorrect standards for intercompany inventory cost. Fifth is an understated income of $700,000, because of a failure to reverse accrual customer incentive program. All amounts in this report are amount of pre-income tax earnings. Rule During this time period Green Mountain has violated three rules from the FASB accounting standards codification: inventory measurement, revenue recognition and multi element revenue recognition. Although the SEC had found more problems than just three, the issues at Green Mountain can be classified into these three areas. The SEC did conduct an 18 month inquiry only, into the financial statements of Green Mountain, costing the company about $4 million dollars (10-k form, 2011) . The first FASB code violated is 330-10-35 or Topic-inventory, Subtopic-overall, Section-subsequent measurement (FASB ASC 330-10-35). During the SEC inquiry, Green Mountain had overstated their inventory totaling $8.4 million during the fiscal years. Green Mountain had overstated its inventory two difference ways. With the net result is being an overstated net income, during the company’s record profit and double digit growth years, creating a high dividend for investors. Second FASB code violated is 605-15-25 or Topic-revenue recognition, Subtopic-products, Section-recognition (FASB ASC 605-15-25). With this violation Green Mountain had under accrual incentive programs by $1.4 million dollars and also over accrual incentive programs by $700,000 dollars. Green Mountain had a net overstated income by $700,000 dollars during the fiscal years. Since Green Mountain has taken the â€Å"Razor and Blade† sales method, this is an important violation for their investors (Mchugh, 2012). The Razor and Blade sales method is where Gillette brand razors are sold at cost but the company makes its money when the consumer buys the blade. For Green Mountain they are selling the coffee maker at cost, while they hold the patent rights to the K-cup that fits into the coffee maker. The last FASB rule violates is 605-25-25 or Topic-revenue recognition, Subtopic-multiple-element arrangements, Section-recognition (FASB ASC 605-25-25). This violation is from Green Mountain not having the correct cumulative revenue recognition of royalties from a third party vendor. Green Mountain had overstated their income by $1 million dollar form this error, once again overstating the net income of the company. Analysis Green Mountain was known for being a responsible company prior to the inquiry, where they managed the production from bean to brewer. Also Green Mountain has claimed that the support only responsible farming practices, proven by their coffees being â€Å"Fair Trade Certified†. The restating of their financial records has hurt their image but only for a little while since their stock has rebounded. â€Å"Channel Surfing† is what one blogger has accused Green Mountain of doing (Flitter, 2012). The inflation of sales and earnings is Channel Surfing; this is done to make a company seem more profitable than actual. The facts are that, yes they did go through an SEC inquiry for 18 months. There was no charges filed by the SEC and all Green Mountain did was restate their financial statement at an expense to the company’s bottom line. The company image does now have a blemish on it and they don’t have the same public support they once had. The stockholder did file a lawsuit against Green Mountain, but the judges throw the case out of court. Green Mountain had a net profit of $79 million in 2010 and $199 million in 2011, the years affected by the SEC investigation. Between the adjustment and cost of inquiry Green Mountain had a $14.1 million dollar expense. This is a big expense to the company but it is something they have recovered from and their stock is climbing and no one has gone to jail for criminal actions. Conclusion Green Mountain did not act like a responsible company in regards to its accounting practices, but they have straighten up there polices since the inquiry. I believe that they were trying to see how much they could get away with for revenue recognition and once caught they have followed the FASB code since then. The business model they are using for sales method is a risky game, because of patents expiring and this might be part of the motivation behind the revenue recognition policies.

Market Day Reflection

I felt as if was really running a business and that I had to be 100% committed to every decision we made. I was very involved in every part of this project. I was also very eager for market day to come to see if the product we spent months making would be a best seller come time. What made you discouraged? The only thing that tended to discourage me was when I found out three other groups were making a very similar product to ours and selling it at a lower price. This made me feel like our shirts were not going to sell and we would have failed. If you could assign a grade for this reject, what grade would you give?Explain why you believe that grade would be fair. I think I would deserve an A because I was putting in all the work necessary to receive an A. Not only was I the president of the company, was involved in all of my team members jobs as well. 3. Financial Analysis of the Company – How many products did you sell? We sold all of our products (36 shirts). What was your s ales revenue? Our total sales revenue was $453. What was the amount of your total expenses? Our total expenses added up to $392. Did your company make a profit or take a loss? How much? We made a profit Of $61. How did you personally invest in the company?I invested $1 00 into our company. How much money did you take home after market day? Took home $1 13 after market day. What was your personal profit or loss on your investment? I made $13 profit on my investment. Did your group meet their financial goal? Explain. We originally set a higher goal for our profit, but in the end we are just glad that we left market day with a profit at all. 4. Level of cooperation from Other Members of the Team – Discuss the amount of cooperation and involvement of other team members: My other team members split up all of the work very equally.One person stood out in my group though, and that was Taylor Casey. She was the one who volunteered to drive all the way to Tempe to pick up our product when it was finished. Was very surprised that in our group every member pulled her weight, and that's why we were so successful. 5. Business Plan – How were sections of the business plan divided up among your team members? We divided up the business plan based on our areas of responsibility for the company, (the Vice President of Finances took Over all the sections having to do with our finances, etc. ). Which sections were you reasonably responsible for? Id a large variety of sections considering that I was the president, but one section specifically to name was the biographies. When you were writing your sections, did you refer to the business plan outline that was provided so that you would know what questions to answer? Yes I did constantly refer back to the business plan so that I wouldn't leave any questions unanswered. Did you use your time in the computer lab wisely? Our group got all but two of our slides done in the time allotted in the computer lab, so yes we did u se our time very wisely. What was the hardest art about writing the business plan?The hardest part about writing the business plan was making sure that we added every slide and answered all Of the necessary questions in a logical order. 6. Knowledge Gained From this Experience What did you learn about opening and running a business from this project? I learned a few key aspects about running a company and that was be careful who you choose as business partners and never wait until the last minute. For your business partners, I learned tattoo should choose someone who you know will consistently agree with you, and you will agree with them so that arguments never arise.

The Social Class system is alive and well.Discuss Essay

The Social Class system is alive and well.Discuss - Essay Example This paper in particular tends to argue that despite the pledge of political leaders, social class system is still alive and well at every point of societal concerns in the developed nations like UK and US. Among the various social class theories Marxism is the most prominent one which contributed to the communist outburst in the nineteenth century. Karl Marx, the German sociologist through his social class theory defined the capitalist society into two major classes; bourgeoisie and proletariat. Bourgeoisie refers to the owners of the means of production whereas proletariat refers to the labor class. According to him, a fair society would come true only if everyone has the ownership on factories, public services, and means of production, which could be utilized for the common good. This is the basis of other political philosophies like communism and socialism. Marxism got multiple responses from all over the world and altered the political facet of many economies by making global divisions such as capitalist and communist camps. The relevance of the theory is still a matter of political debate and the so called equality is a utopian idea to capitalists. They believe that social equali ty cannot be attained through class struggle, and moreover the state ownership or limited access to private property would lessen employees’ creativity. Class is natural as well as inevitable feature of a society which would gradually emerge in every civilization despite all forced strategies. Therefore, a genuine attempt to bring forth equality should focus on healthy interaction, tolerance, and mutual understanding between the classes. Although Max Webber also found two classes; owners and workers, he disagreed with Karl Marx’s concept to certain extents. According to him, class is determined by one’s occupation rather than the ownership of the means of production. He argued that an unskilled laborer who is engaged in menial jobs would belong to

I need an OUTLINE done The outline needs to be about A Taste Of Honey Essay

I need an OUTLINE done The outline needs to be about A Taste Of Honey by Shelagh Delaney - Essay Example I intend to challenge the notion that we as a British Society have changed, even in the wake of liberal ,legal and social reforms. The play was written in 1958 when Divorces were a taboo, there was lesser minority representation amongst the society and single parenting was looked down upon as a religious and social offence. Gay marriages or open homosexual cohabitations were unheard of because such people were at a risk of bodily harm if their sexual orientation was made public. My thesis will focus around the life of the women (Helen and Jo)and their problems in the setting of the 1950's.From the opening of the play the focus is on the women (Helen/Jo), their problems and their attempts to cope with life. There will also be a focus on their increased hostility and dialogue structure. Jo's frustration with Helen's relationship with Peter and her loneliness is also analyzed.My aim will be to highlight Jo's interracial relationship with her black boyfriend Jimmi who she has a sexual relationship with after she feels depressed by Helens departure to a happy matrimonial life.She subsequently gets pregnant and he leaves her.She is forced to share the flat with the good natured Geoff who is also Gay.The way he gets treated when he attempts a friendly reconciliation between Jo and Helen is a reminiscent of the attitude of the society towards bisexuals in those days. There are further raci

Week1CR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week1CR - Essay Example In the global market, today, a number of corporations are working hard to ensure that their customers are loyal to their brand. One of the companies is the Apple Company that moves with the latest trends in the technology world by investing heavily in research and development of products, which satisfies the needs of their customers in the global market (Iyler & Bejou, 2003). Wal-Mart stores, which are establishing in different countries in the world ensure that they have as many products as possible less than one roof. This enables the customers to shop in one location. To ensure that they are loyal to the Wal-Mart, they award their customers reward points that can be redeemed to buy different products in the stores. This enables them to build long-term relationships with all their customers due to this engagement throughout the year. Consumer loyalty however depends on the kind of services and efficiency of the brand to the

A Streetcar Named Desire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Streetcar Named Desire - Essay Example The idea of the film is borrowed from the play by Tennessee Williams with the same title. The main character is Blanche DuBois, who is a fading though very beautiful heroine and the Southern belle. In the reality, this woman is degrading and is masterfully hiding behind her attractive mask. This woman suffers from the problems with alcoholism, but she tries to position herself as a good-willed woman. On her way to New Orleans French Quarter, she follows the route, which is named â€Å"Desire† and is really shocking for her (Bloom 1988, p. 37). The social underpinnings of the film Blanche is a very nervous woman with unstable nerves. She had an affair with her 17-year-old student and that is why she left her hometown. Moreover, this woman experienced a suicide of her husband and there is no wonder that she is on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Her illusions are haunting her and are mixed with her reality. She lives in her own mixed reality which is the background for her self- searching. It is hard for her to identify herself in the complex social context and it is even harder for her to position herself as a sound member of the society or as a dweller of her illusive world. Stanley and Stella show their stable and erotically charged relation to Blanche and do not feel emotional constraint. Stanley has a conflict with Blanche, because he finds out those things which she tried to hide from all people around her. Stanley rapes her and Blanche experiences a nervous breakdown. These events may seem to be predictable for drama films, but in reality the director has another intention to contrast a real life of people with their imaginative worlds. Therefore, the main heroine is passing through the film driven by her strong desire; while she felt this desire to live and to love, she was alive. When this feeling was perverted and scorned, her life broke down. Stanley could not even confess that he committed this crime and spoiled a life of a poor woman. There is a rich symbolism in this film. The main characters are fighting against their low intentions, alcoholism, and their weak-willed natures. It is interesting that the director of the film chose Marlon Brando and Vivienne Leigh to play two main characters. Both of these actors are beautiful and have always been associated with dignity and good nature (Saal, 2003). In this film, the stereotypes are discarded and the public has a chance to see that they can play both positive and negative characters. Both of them can evoke not only a feeling of admiration or love, but also negative attitude and even disdain of the audience. At the same time, the director chose those actors in order to underline that everyone has its skeleton in the cupboard and very often there is a veil of dignity, but in reality a person is a perverted beast or lives another life. Leigh was dying out in 50s as the actress of romanticism and Marlon Brando was on the edge of naturalistic acting. There is a symbolic antago nism between romanticism and realism. There is a struggle of violence and desire against illusive romantic world. Therefore, the scene of rape is hidden from the audience, but it is clearly seen from the shadows of two persons what is happening. Brando is dominating on the screen. The epoch of realism and violence is dominating over the epoch of romanticism.

See below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

See below - Essay Example From our infancy to our death our bones grow and change characteristics from flexible cartilage to mature â€Å"hard-as-rock† bone, to porous, brittle bones of old age. Two of the most important elements that make up hard, mature bone are Calcium and Phosphate. Calcium is the most abundant element in the body. Aside from maintaining bones and teeth it can also â€Å"enable the contraction of muscles, including the function of the body’s most important muscle, the heart. It is also essential for normal blood clotting, proper nerve impulse transmission, and the appropriate support of connective tissue† (Krapp, 2002, p. 387). Phosphate plays many other roles in the body, mostly as a component of ATP and as a buffer to other compounds. In the bones, Phosphate and calcium ions combine into hydroxyapatite, which is the structural material found in bones. There is a limit to the amount of Calcium and Phosphate in the body. To maintain proper levels of both, the bones co ntinuously undergo bone remodeling. Bone remodeling is the process of bone deposit and bone resorption combined. It involves correcting imbalances between phosphate and calcium levels in the blood. Normally, a human has 9-11 mg of calcium for every 100ml of blood (Marieb & Hoehn, 2006). If it drops below that, calcium is taken from the blood, and if it exceeds it, the extra calcium is absorbed into the blood. The components that make bone remodeling happens are your Parathyroid hormones, your calcitonin, your osteoblasts and your osteoclasts. Parathyroid hormones are hormones released by the Parathyroid gland that stimulates osteoclasts to break down bone. Osteoclasts are made from the same kind of stem cells that turn into macrophages. They â€Å"move along a bone surface, digging grooves as the break down the bone matrix† (Marieb & Hoehn, 2006), transporting the calcium parts of it into the blood. Since there is a very little difference between nine and eleven milligrams of calcium, the body has to make sure the osteoclasts don’t overdo it. This is where calcitonin comes in. When there is an excess of calcium in the blood, calcitonin is secreted by the thyroid gland, and it activates your bones’ osteoblasts. Osteoblasts are the opposite of the osteoclasts. It absorbs calcium from the blood and stimulates calcium salt deposit in the bone, balancing the calcium levels. This cycle goes on and on, perpetually trying to strike that balance. If too much calcium is released to the blood, the bones would be brittle and would break easily, and if too much calcium is absorbed, the heart would not be able to contract correctly, leading to many possible circulatory problems. Bone remodeling through hormonal control is not primarily for the benefit of the bones. Bone integrity is secondary to maintaining a normal amount of calcium in the blood. Bones are just storage space for ionic calcium to be used by the rest of the body. If it needs more, the bo dy will just keep demineralizing the bones until it has enough in the blood, likewise, if there is too much calcium, neither the blood nor the bones can keep all of it. Calcium salt deposits can form in many organs, thereby hampering the function of these organs such as blood vessels, kidneys, etc. There is another way wherein bones are remodeled. That is through mechanical stress. Gravity is a constant. It is always weighing the bones down. The

Post devolution, do separate or dual identities exist in England and Dissertation

Post devolution, do separate or dual identities exist in England and Britain - Dissertation Example Such assumptions were based on the esoteric understandings of the two labels, British and English, and tended to affect the framing of the concept of a so called national identity that were based on territorial differentiation and the respective identities, nature of citizenship, and social inclusion. The nationalistic identity of any state which is dependent on its socio-political characteristics, may go through various transformations (like devolution); and under pressures from the changed local, political, and social conditions, may undergo differentiation. Under changed circumstances the nationalistic identity of ‘Britishness’ may take a back seat, with the regional identity of ‘Englishness,’ eclipsing the former. ... The Existence of Separate or Dual Identities in England and Britain post devolution period 1 Introduction 1.1 Background History â€Å"The history of England [is] not in England but in America and Asia† J.R. Seele Since 1997, United Kingdom has been undergoing devolution as regards to its 4 member states, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. England has been ‘eventually promised’ a new and ‘Greater London Authority,’ with a separate and Assembly and mayor, while separate regionally elected assemblies are also on the annals for England; while the remaining 3 states have been given varying degrees of autonomy in their assemblies. Thus this entire process of devolution spells out into new territorial contours within the realms of United Kingdom. A look at the history shows us that Britain did not quite have a homogenous nature right from the time of its conception, and the then British foreign secretary Robin Cook, ascertained that the concept of this â€Å"homogeneity of British identity that some people assume to be the norm was confined to a relatively brief period. It lasted from the Victorian era of imperial expansion to the aftermath of the Second World War...The diversity of modern Britain expressed through devolution and multiculturalism is more consistent with the historical experience of our islands† (Cook, 2001). The topic or concept of ‘British,’ after being reviewed by various experts has been found to consist of a large and gaping conceptual void (Kumar, 2000, 576). Historical records, in general, are found aplenty, starting with political, constitutional, social, and economic histories of England, yet there has

Endangered Species Act of 1973 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Endangered Species Act of 1973 - Assignment Example As it is, there are already many in society that would argue that no exceptions whatsoever should be made.   In the end, to open up an exception to private enterprises as well, no matter how well-intentioned the organization might be.   In effect, were the government to open up such exceptions to others, the floodgates would literally come alive with individuals or organizations who felt their work was so important to the public welfare that it should be permitted to continue, no matter what the cost to a given species might be.   This would go against the very intent of the Endangered Species Act, not to mention create a bureaucratic nightmare for all affected agencies as they would be charged with the task of determining who to grant an exception to, and who to deny.   At some point, it would simply not work and would be ethically improper to proceed with that course of action.  

The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Essay Example for Free

The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Essay The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is a Federal law-enforcing agency that ensures certain statues and regulations are followed in the US Securities markets. It protects the investors in the market, and at the same time maintains the integrity and the strength of the market. This would benefit not only the investors, but also other market stakeholders such as the public. Some of the important characteristics of the market ensured by the SEC include flexibility, stability, dynamics and sophistication. The SEC would also maintain freeness, fairness, order and efficiency in the markets. This would enable the capital to build and develop further. THE SEC believes in certain values such as integrity, responsibility, fairness, resourcefulness, teamwork and commitment for excellence (US SEC, 2006). The SEC was created in the year 1934, following the creation of the Securities Exchange Act, 1934. The Act was basically meant to protect the investors from financial crashes in the stock market. Following the World War-1, the people believed that the market was a place where they could transform from ‘rags to riches’. However, following the 1929-Great Stock market crash, people began to lose confidence in the markets. During the Great Depression period, investors lost great sums of money, and people began to lose hope that the market would ever recover. This was when the government stepped in and tried to frame laws for the betterment of the public. The Securities Act was mainly to ensure that the investor feels that the market is a safe place to invest. It help enable the investor to know more about the business of the company they are investing, the type of securities the company is selling and the risks involved during investing. The brokers, traders and sellers of the securities would have to treat the investor with respect, ensuring that their interest is maintained at all times (US SEC, 2007). The SEC consists of Commissioners who are being appointed by the President for a 5-year term. One of these commissioners is given the post of Chairman. These Commissioners have to be from different political parties. The SEC has 4 divisions and 18 offices. The headquarters of the SEC lies in Washington DC (US SEC, 2007). The SEC would perform several function including:- 1. Create new laws and modify the existing laws concerning securities 2. Help to comprehend the laws regarding securities 3. Monitor the market situation regarding securities especially the brokers, investors, traders, advisors, agencies, etc 4. Ensure that the private regulatory security organizations are functioning in a proper manner 5. Ensure that organizations outside the US are following the laws laid down in the Securities statue. (US SEC, 2007) References: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2006). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission2006 Performance and Accountability Report, Retrieved on November 3, 2007, from US SEC Web site: http://edgar.sec.gov/about/secpar/secpar2006.pdf U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2007). US The Investors Advocate: How the SEC Protects Investors, Maintains Market Integrity, and Facilitates Capital Formation, Retrieved on November 3, 2007, from US SEC Web site: http://www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtml

Mel Brooks as Jewish Comedian Essay Example for Free

Mel Brooks as Jewish Comedian Essay Mel Brookss membership in the elite club of Jewish comedians is essentially impossible to dispute. The question is whether or not his comedy is atypical. Satirizing Jewish history and klutzy old Jewish men is normal for Jewish comedy. However, Dont be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party, is something that you would not expect to hear in typical Jewish comedy (The Producers). Defined broadly, there are two forms which Mel Brookss Jewish humor takes. The first form is to discuss specifically Jewish topics in a funny way. This is evident in The Producers and in the Inquisition scene from History of the World, Part I. The other form is to use certain aspects of Judaism for comedic value. This form, is typically used by Brooks as a means for a quick laugh as opposed to a major source of plot definition, and is most apparent in such scenes as that with the Yiddish-speaking Indian in Blazing Saddles. While exploring Brookss types of Jewish humor, this paper will limit its scope. Only four of Brookss films will be discussed in this paper-The Producers, Blazing Saddles, History of the World, Part I, and To Be or Not To Be. These films were chosen because the quantity of Jewish content in all of them is considerably more than in his other films such as Young Frankenstein or Silent Movie. The four films chosen do an excellent job of portraying the complete range of the types of Jewish-related humor, which Brooks uses. To understand Mel Brooks identity as a specifically Jewish comedian it is important to understand how Jewish he actually was. Melvin Kaminsky was born as the youngest of four brothers in a crowded New York City apartment to Kitty and Max Kaminsky. He grew up in a very Jewish area were on Saturdays, the shops were closed, the pushcarts parked, and Yiddish replaced with Hebrew in over seventy orthodox synagogues. However, Brooks himself spent his Saturdays enjoying matinees at the Marcy Theater. He married a non-Jewish woman and allowed his son, Max, to be baptized only as long as he was allowed to have a bar-mitzvah. When asked by the media if he wanted his wife to convert he replied She dont have to convert. She a star! (Yacowar 10-14). Before discussing the films, it is crucial to identify a recurring theme in Brookss work-Germans and, more specifically, Nazis. He had a brief military career in World War II with very little combat experience, and he actually ended up being the entertainment coordinator for the army. Yacowar analyzes Brooks later feelings towards Germans as subconscious frustration because of his inability to actually fight the Nazis (Yacowar 17). In an interview he was asked about his obsession with Germans, and he replied: Me not like Germans? Why should I not like Germans? Just because theyre arrogant and have fat necks and do anything theyre told as long as it is cruel, and killed millions of Jews in concentration camps and made soap out of their bodies and lamp shades out of their skins? Is that any reason to hate their f-king guts? (Yacowar 32) Brooks has mocked Germans in various works such as in Your Show of Shows and on the Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks at the Cannes film festival audio recording. Regardless, of the origin of his interest with Nazis, if one looks at enough of his work, one cannot help but notice that this theme is an obsession for Brooks (Yacowar 34-35, 48). Mel Brooks made his first feature film, The Producers, in 1967. It is about a Jewish Broadway producer (Max Bialystock) who convinces his Jewish accountant (Leo Bloom) to finance a guaranteed to fail play with the idea that they would take the profits and run to South America. The guaranteed to fail play, Springtime for Hitler turned out to be a huge success. The two main characters both represent completely different Jewish stereotypes and the third area of Jewish interest in the film is the role of Germans both in the play and the ex-Nazi author, Frank Liebkind (Altman 39). Max Bialystock (played by Zero Mostel) is obviously not a first generation American because of his name and his accent. Although he never does anything specifically Jewish, he is still Jewish so it is relevant to look at his relationship to Jewish stereotypes. In his book, Telushkin discusses the tradition of having big and lavish bar mitzvahs, he says that the Jewish tradition has few curbs to halt such excesses(74). It is interesting to see how Bialystock chooses to live in almost poverty. Although he is so poor that he says Look at me now-Im wearing a cardboard belt, he also wears a reasonably nice jacket, has a leather coach, and keeps every old ladys picture in a decent frame. Later in the film, when he gets a lot of money, he spends it on a chauffeured car, a sexy secretary, lavish offices and new clothes, rather then spending it on new office equipment or investing it for future financial security (Telushkin 83). Leo Bloom, the accountant (played by Gene Wilder), represents the opposite stereotype from Bialystock. He represents the meek Jew, the Jew-as-doormat. In the beginning of the movie, he walks in on Max trying to get some money from an investor (he catches them lying on top of each other) and is so surprised and in shock that he has to be told to say oops (The Producers). This fits right into the stereotype of Jews as remorseful and ashamed of their sexual desires (The Poducers). Bialystock fulfills the other stereotype of Jewish men who have been portrayed as sex-hungry animals in many jokes. Blooms choice of career is also known as a Jewish career. In the end, he, like Bialystock, ends up fulfilling one of the most basic stereotypes of Jews-he gives in to his greed (Telushkin 93). There are also many small Jewish references in the film. There is an ignorant, and very gay, director named Roger DeBris, who directs Springtime for Hitler and has a familiar Yiddish term in his name (Telushkin 86-87). Also, in the beginning of the movie Bialystock has a funny dialogue with his landlord and it is the only part of the movie in which religion is involved. Bialystock: Murderer, thief, how can you take the last penny out of a poor mans pocket? Landlord: I have to, Im a landlord. Bialystock: Oh lord, hear my plea: Destroy him, he maketh a blight on the land. Landlord: Dont listen to him-hes crazy (The Producers). When one hears the conversation, with the Landlord speaking in a Jewish accent and Bialystock calling out at the heavens, sounding like an abused Jewish mother, it is a lot funnier and the Jewish element is a lot clearer as well. Brooks message in this movie has been largely debated. Lester D. Freidman thinks, Bialystock and Bloom fail to find their flop because they underestimate their audiences deadened sensibilities (173). Brooks is trying to point out that the shock and horror that everyone should view the holocaust in, is mainly a Jewish mindset. In the movie, he made two perfect Jews, and their perfection caused them two have a mindset that was different from the rest of the American public. Therefore, the movie is about more than a pair of corrupt showmen. It is about the segregation of Jews. Bailystock and Bloom are not yet Americans, they still carry a separate identity. In 1974, Brooks came out with Blazing Saddles which is much less Jewish than The Producers. The movie is about a town with a corrupt Attorney General who wants take over the town. The townspeople get the governor to send a new sheriff to restore order. He sends Sheriff Bart who is a black man with Gucci saddlebags on his horse. The townspeople end up working with the new Sheriff to defeat Hedley Lamarr (the attorney general) and his band of hooligans. Jewish topics are in the film as occasional funny parts and not as major parts of the plot. The funniest and most recognizable part of the movie where Judaism is involved is Sheriff Barts recollection of how his family got to the west. According to the Sheriff, strange Indians attacked their wagon. Brooks, who plays the Indian chief, allows Bart and his family to go, he tells his tribe, Zeit nishe meshugge. Loz em gaien†¦Abee gezint. Which basically means, take off. Some feel this is Brooks trying to get some cheap laughs by using Yiddish, but Friedman points out that it is comically appropriate that the Wests most conspicuous outsider, the Indian, should speak in the tongue of historys traditional outsider, the Jew (77). Other than this reference, Blazing Saddles use of Judaism is really little more than an occasional punch line. When Hedley Lamarr is looking for a way to get the citizens of Rock Ridge to leave, his associate recommends killing the first-born male child in every family, to which Lamarr replies-too Jewish (Blazing Saddles). When Mongo (a gigantic ruffian) comes into the saloon, someone in the background says Gottenew (Oh God! ), another Yiddish term (Yacowar 110). Not surprisingly, Mel Brooks finds a way to squeeze Germans into a movie set in the late 19th Centurys Wild West. In the finale of the movie, Lamarr recruits an army of lowlifes. In the army there is a small group of German soldiers who spend much of the fistfight sitting with a Ms. Lily von Shtupp (a not so talented lounge singer) singing the same war song heard in The Producers (Blazing Saddles). Finally, the Indian on many movie promotional materials (including the video cover) has the Hebrew for kosher for Passover inscribed in his headband. Strangely enough, these relatively small Jewish references got the attention of the Jewish Film Advisory Committee, whose director, Allen Rivkin, spoke to a writer about the offensiveness of the Jewish material. The writers response was, Dad, get with it. This is another century(Doneson 128) Blazing Saddles is a movie of the second type identified. It does not deal with specifically Jewish topics. It does, however, use Jewish topics as a way of forwarding the plot and the comedy. Whether the critics were right that Brooks was just using Yiddish because he found it funny, or if he was using it because he wanted to make a point about racism and exclusion, what is most important is that he actually used Yiddish, instead of something more expected (Yacowar 110). 1981s History of the World, Part I, falls somewhere between The Producers and Blazing Saddles in its level of Jewish content (Freidman 236). The movie, is basically, a quick tour through history going from the discovery of fire to the French Revolution. Within the movie, there are two skits that are specifically of Jewish interest (Moses on Mount Sinai and the Spanish Inquisition. ) In the Old Testament, God identifies himself as the Lord, and asks Moses if he can hear Him. Mel Brooks, in a robe and white beard says Yes. I hear you. I hear you. A deaf man could hear you. When Moses tells the people of the new laws, he says, The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given onto these 15 [crash] 10, 10 Commandments for all to obey. Although Moses obviously had to be Jewish, one wonders why he had to be so klutzy a comic. In Rome, Gregory Hines, playing Josephus, a slave who is not sold in the auction, attempts to get out of being sent to the Coliseum where he would be lion food. His excuse is that the lions only eat Christians, Christians, and I am a Jew-Jewish person. To prove this, he starts singing Havah Negilah and gets the entire crowd to join him. He even tells the slave trader to call Sammus Davis Jr. (after calling the temple and the rabbi). Eventually, the trader looks down his pants, to prove he is not Jewish (History of the World, Part I). Empress Nympho, Caesars wife, is a strange cross between a J. A. P. and a sex maniac. She has a classic Jewish mother accent and uses Yiddish occasionally-Well shlep him along, for example. Towards the end of the movie, Brooks calls a courtier of Louis XVI a petite putz (History of the World, Part I). This is obviously a strange place to hear Yiddish, unless the intent is comic effect. Finally, though, the most outrageous scene, and the one that some Jews have found quite objectionable is the one about the Spanish Inquisition. It should be noted that Brookss portrayal of the Inquisition as being directed against Jews is historically inaccurate. It was really directed against heretical Christians. Because of this inaccuracy, it is safe to assume that Brooks wanted to put this scene in as a Jewish note into his film, as he did with the other films discussed. The Inquisition scene is filmed in a medieval dungeon. It starts by introducing the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada (Mel Brooks) with Torquemada-do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada-do not beg him for forgiveness†¦. Lets face it, you cant Torquemada [talk him outta] anything, then the music starts. One of the lines in the song is A fact youre ignoring, its better to lose your skullcap with your skull, which is emphasized by two old Jewish men in stocks singing oy oy gevalt. After a few descriptions of the actual torture which individual Jews suffered, he points out that nothing is working, send in the nuns. The nuns perform a synchronized swimming routine in which Jews are sent down a chute into a pool to be dragged under by nuns. At the end of the scene, seven nuns are standing on a menorah with sparklers on their heads, while the chorus, led by Torquemada, sings, Come on you Moslems and you Jews. Weve got big news for all of youse. Youd better change your points of views today. Cause the Inquisitions here, and its here to stay. When Brooks was criticized for this scene he replied: Nothing can burst the balloon of pomposity and dictatorial splendor better than comedy†¦. In a sense, my comedy is serious, and I need a serious background to play against†¦. Poking fun at the Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada, is a wonderful counterpart to the horrors he committed (Friedman 236). This would make History of the World, Part I comparable to The Producers in its satire of Hitler, and makes Blazing Saddles also comparable through its satirical treatment of racism. If one still thought that Brooks made History of the World, Part I with only good intentions, one should also consider the treatment of Jews and Germans in the ending of the film. The promo for History of the World, Part II includes scenes such as Hitler on Ice, and Jews in Space, in which Jews are in a space craft singing Were Jews out in space. Were zooming along protecting the Hebrew race†¦. When Goyim attacks us, well give em a slap. Well smack em right back in the face. It definitely seems that History of the World, Part I is a combination, (just as the others movies discussed are) of exploitation for easy laughs and of exposing the evils of the tyrants who have tormented the Jews throughout history. In To Be or Not To Be, Mel Brooks plays Fredrick Bronski, the head actor in a Polish stage revue, around the time of the Nazi annexation of Poland. His wife, Anna Bronski (Anna Bancroft) falls in love with an Air Force lieutenant working in the Polish platoon of the RAF. The main focus of the movie is how they make fun of, get around, outwit, and ultimately escape the Nazis. This movie is actually a remake of an older film, but it still has a distinctively Mel Brooks feel. The main target of Brookss satire is the head of the Gestapo, Colonel Erhardt (Charles Durning) who is a babbling fool. For example, when on the phone, he says What? Why? Where When? When in doubt, arrest them, arrest them, arrest them! Then shoot them and interrogate them. [pause] Oh you are right, just shoot them. Soon after this, he is led to believe that the shoot first policy led to the deaths of two useful figures and after asking what idiot formed the policy, he got mad at Shultz, his assistant, for reminding him that he made the policy. Later on, he has this exchange with Shultz: Erhardt: What idiot gave the order to close the Bronskis theater? Schultz: You did, sir. Erhardt: Open it up immediately. And once and for all stop blaming everything that goes wrong on me (To Be or Not To Be). After being warned to stop making jokes about Hitler, Erhardt promises, No. Never, never, never again, [emphasis added] strange words to hear from a nazi. Although this movie is not about Jews, there are a few Jewish characters and encounters. Bronski hides a Jewish family in his theaters cellar and during the course of the movie, theyre number increases. At one point, the intelligence agent goes to the theater to find his lover, Bronskis wife. The Jewish women hiding there tells him You know that big house on Posen Street? Well dont go there, its Gestapo headquarters, before actually telling where she was staying (To Be or Not To Be). At the end of the movie, they dress up all the Jews hiding in the cellar (closer to 20 than the 3 who originally hid out in the cellar) as clowns to have them run through the aisle (in the middle of a performance for Hitler) to a truck to safety. One old lady panics in the aisle, surrounded by Nazis. To save the old lady, another clown runs up to them and pins an oversized yellow star, yelling Juden! , this causes an enormous laughter from the Nazi audience. To stall the Gestapo, Brooks dresses up as Hitler, and listens to a Jewish actor perform the Hath not a Jew eyes speech from Merchant of Venice. To Be or Not To Be appears to be Brookss final way of coping with his lack of combat in WWII. While he has The Producers make a play in which they portray the Nazis comically, the ultimate message is that the two Jews in the movie still find them to be patently offensive, and therefore, worthy of some form of respect. In To Be or Not To Be he makes the Nazis into purely comical characters, and this is a step further than Brooks went in The Producers. However, this simply may be because at the point of To Be or Not To Be, Brooks was well into his career as an established moviemaker, so he had more freedom to be offensive. Unfortunately, To Be or Not To Be ended the golden age of Mel Brooks movies, at least from a specifically Jewish point-of-view. His later films make only small mentions of Jewish topics. An example of this is Spaceballs, a parody of Star Wars where the main characters have to save a princess from Planet Druidia (Funny, she doesnt look Druish) from the evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) (Spaceballs). The only Jewish reference in the movie were playing off the theme of the Druish princess and a short scene with Mel Brooks as Yogurt, a reinterpretation of Yoda as an old, Jewish man. Brooks also renamed the Force from Star Wars to something more ethnic-the Schwartz. Although these Jewish references may be equal to the Yiddish-speaking Indian in Blazing Saddles, it is too big of a stretch to link a deeper meaning to them as can be done in his earlier films. In the Big Book of Jewish Humor, Jewish humor is defined as having these five qualities: 1. It is substantive in that it is about some larger topic. 2. It, in many cases, has a point-the appropriate response is not laughter, but rather a bitter nod or a commiserating sign of recognition. 3. It is anti-authoritarian, in that it ridicules grandiosity and self-indulgence, exposes hypocrisy, and†¦. is strongly democratic. 4. It frequently has a critical edge which creates discomfort in making its point. 5. It is unsparing-it satirizes anyone and everyone (Novak and Waldoks xx-xxii). Telushkins definition of a Jewish joke is much simpler. He says it must express a Jewish sensibility (16). To Bernard Saper, a uniquely Jewish joke must contain incongruity, a sudden twist of unexpected elements (76). Christie Davies, points out that people such as Jews, who belong to a minority or peripheral ethnic groups tell jokes both about the majority group and about their own group, and they may tell more ethnic jokes about their own group (and find them funnier) than about the majority(29-30). Are the four films discussed within these definitions? Brooks movies definitely fit the Telushkin test of expressing Jewish sensibility, weather it is through how he attacks the Nazis or the random Yiddish expressions that he uses. A lot of Brooks humor is also incongruous. For example, having a Nazi say never again, fulfills Sapers requirement. Brooks films have a lot of ethnic jokes in them, which deal with Jews or Jewish topics. Brooks probably put these jokes in his movies because he found them funny, therefore fulfilling the Davies test. The definition in The Big Book of Jewish Humor is harder to fit because it is in greater detail. However, the films that were discussed fit them well. Many of Brookss films are substantive in that he deals with racism and Anti-Semitism in almost all of his movies. The point of his films may not be so sharp that when people see them they automatically feel bitterness toward someone, but his movies are definently not pure slapstick which fulfills the second part of the definition. Brooks never attacked Jewish leadership but his films are anti-authoritarian because he clearly attacks government officials such as the Nazis and the Grand Inquisitor. Since there is constant controversy about Brooks films there is always potential for discomfort to arise. Finally, Brooks leaves out nobody from his satire-Nazis, cowboys, and 15th century Spanish Jews are all satirized and made fun of in these films. Even though some of his scenes or individual jokes are not typical Jewish humor, he is a Jewish comedian who, most importantly, makes Jewish jokes. Brookss movies represent the classical paradox in Jewish humor and Jewish experience between: first, the legitimate pride that Jews have taken in their distinctive and learned religious and ethical tradition and in the remarkable intellectual eminence and entrepreneurial and professional achievement of individual members of their community, and second, the anti-Semitic abuse and denigration from hostile outsiders whose malice was fueled by Jewish autonomy and achievement (Davies 42-43). The greatest lesson that Brooks has to teach American Jews of today is the expansion of our boundaries. Through his use of Jewish humor to topics which where previously considered off-limits, he allows his viewers to cope with painful parts of history which they may not have been able to cope with in the past. Brooks describes his role as a comedian by saying, for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast beaters. By the time I was five I knew I was that one (Friedman 171-172). He explains that his comedy derives from the feeling that, as a Jew and as a person, you dont fit the mainstream of American society. It comes from the realization that even though youre better and smarter, youll never belong (Friedman 172). Mel Brookss experience is very similar to that of every American Jew, and his comedy speaks uniquely to the American Jew. So, even Brookss most offensive work is rooted deeply within both typical Jewish Humor and the modern Jewish experience. The greatest lesson that Brooks has to teach American Jews of today is the expansion of our boundaries. Through his use of Jewish humor to topics which where previously considered off-limits, he allows his viewers to cope with painful parts of history which they may not have been able to cope with in the past. Brooks describes his role as a comedian by saying, for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast beaters. By the time I was five I knew I was that one (Friedman 171-172). He explains that his comedy derives from the feeling that, as a Jew and as a person, you dont fit the mainstream of American society. It comes from the realization that even though youre better and smarter, youll never belong (Friedman 172). Mel Brookss experience is very similar to that of every American Jew, and his comedy speaks uniquely to the American Jew. So, even Brookss most offensive work is rooted deeply within both typical Jewish Humor and the modern Jewish experience.

The Roles Of Women In Terrorism

The Roles Of Women In Terrorism The involvement of women in terrorist organisations is by no means new, but their role therein has changed markedly over recent years. Up until the late twentieth century, women in terrorist organisations were largely assigned tasks removed from the front lines of political violence they existed only to support their male counterparts, through gathering intelligence, providing healthcare, and even maintaining safe houses for more-active terrorists. Since then, and though women continue to perform those functions, the role of female terrorists has evolved into something more active, perhaps tougher, more fanatical, more loyal, than previously seen.  [1]  Indeed, while formerly confined to more auxiliary roles, female members of violent extremist groups now engage directly in attacks, including suicide bombings, attracting widespread disbelief and heightened media interest. After looking at terrorisms definitional problems, this paper will examine three different categories of involvement by women in terrorism: women as terrorists actually joining extremist organisations and carrying out attacks; women as enablers their role in motivating, inspiring, or encouraging potential terrorists; and women as preventers analysis of their involvement in counterterrorism. In so doing, it will focus on women and terrorism, as opposed to the overlapping concept of women and war. Both concepts of women engaging in terrorism and of womens roles in wars are broad and nuanced, and a single paper cannot do both justice. For this reason, the former alone will be examined here. Both terrorism and gender in conflict have been studied and written about extensively. The recognition of rape as a weapon of war has led to a timely re-evaluation of gender in warfare,  [2]  and much has been written on the subject of terrorism, particularly since September 2001, when terrorism entered into mainstream media and non-academic literature, even in those countries not directly affected by it. Yet, terrorism through the prism of gender has only recently gained ground in academic and media discourse, partly due to the rise of the female suicide bomber.  [3]  This study will consult literature mainly on political violence, but also on the role of women in society, drawing out observations on the impact of women on terrorism, as well as on how womens unique position in society can be harnessed for counterterrorism purposes. In addition, the paper will briefly comment on what the implications are for gender equality. Indeed, does the advent of female terrorists mirror the advance of women in society? This paper will provide a broad overview of the womens roles in terrorism, with more-detailed comments on their potential for de-radicalising active and potential terrorists. Women as Participants in Terrorism Although terrorism is one of the most widely used words in both international relations and the news media, the word lacks a clear, universal definition. Those who try to characterise it often harbour underlying biases (rendering their definitions questionable), or, in the case of some governments and the media, they may seek to label as many events as possible with a provocative term to demonise a particular group or to create headlines. Terrorism has a pejorative implication and those associated with it are therefore degraded politically and socially.  [4]  Most would agree, however, that fear is intrinsic to any successful terrorism. As political scientist Martha Crenshaw explains, [t]errorism is a method by which an agent tends to produce terror in order to impose his[/her] domination.  [5]  Many other definitions of terrorism exist, including Walter Laqueurs assertion that the meaning of terrorism has been changing throughout history,  [6]  and Brian Michael Jenkins description of the phenomenon as the use or threatened use of force to bring about political change.  [7]  For the purposes of this work, Jenkins definition shall suffice, but with the qualifier that, in the case of millennialist or some fundamentalist groups, political change need not be the final end.  [8]   Examples of women committing terrorist acts abound. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been cited as amongst the first terrorist groups to employ women as attackers, with over one-third of their membership composed of females, who, in addition to suicide bomb missions, have duties on the battlefield, in the kitchen, and in medical camps.  [9]  LTTEs Black Tigresses, are not alone. The Chechen Black Widows, a brigade of female suicide bombers, carried out a dozen suicide bombings over two years, murdering 330 people.  [10]  Similarly, Wafa Idris, the first female suicide bomber, was a twenty-eight-year-old working for the Palestinian Red Crescent when she was deployed on a suicide mission to Jerusalem in 2002. Her bomb killed one person (in addition to herself), and injured 114.  [11]  While the death toll was low, Idris bombing, carried out for the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, served as an excellent recruitment tool, particularly among women. Indeed, the group s ubsequently established squads of willing female suicide bombers squads actually named for Idris.  [12]  Similarly, during the intifadas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas both witnessed a surge in female bombers Syrian nationalists and Kurdish separatists operate in this way, and women in Uzbekistan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt have also joined the terror ranks.  [13]   Woman: the perfect terrorist? Women make excellent terrorists. Traditionally societys inherently nurturing and non-violent caregivers, females tend to attract less attention from security services and are less prone to be searched, questioned, and interrogated in the way that males are particularly in Muslim societies, which carry particular cultural sensitivities regarding the role of women.  [14]  Testament to this, earlier this month a suicide bomber in Somalia disguised himself as a woman, complete with a veil and a females shoes, before detonating explosives in a crowded Mogadishu hotel.  [15]  And even when women are under suspicion, the capacity may not exist to interrogate them: after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, airport security services struggled to recruit enough female staff to carry out searches of women. One of the overriding attractions of using females for violent ends is, therefore, the slim chance of their attracting suspicion; additionally, even if that suspicion is ther e, the capacity may not exist to stop them. In part because violence against women (and children) is deemed by society to be more abhorrent (due to their supposed greater vulnerability), terrorism carried out by women is also more shocking, as will be discussed later in the paper. Ironically, it is the very weakness that makes women the most appealing/effective victims (in that they elicit wider coverage for the group behind the attack) that appears to make women terrorisms best instigators. Following the 2002 Moscow theatre hostage crisis, which involved female as well as male hostage-takers, one commentator posited that, for a woman to commit terrorism, she must be more fanatical than a male terrorist, and is therefore more terrifying than her male colleagues: For feminine engagement in activities that are so classically male bespeaks a far greater zeal. This is hard to verify, but that his analysis of women and terrorism goes on to note that female Islamists must be especially zealous, given that the reward of virgins awaiting the suicide bomber in heaven holds no appeal for them certainly seems plausible.  [16]  It could then be said that the greater fear elicited by the female extremist adds to her effectiveness as a terrorist. Terrorist groups manipulate and capitalise on the stereotypes of women to suit their violent goals. Suicide bombings in themselves, while still abhorrent, are increasingly commonplace almost weekly, news consumers see coverage of bombings in graphic detail. Terrorists have thus sought out ways to renew the impact of their violence (to which many, particularly in areas not directly impacted by attacks, have become partially desensitised), and the use of women as bombers is symptomatic of this. With most terrorism hinging on the publicity it attracts, groups play into the shock value of using women as human bombs; this elicits the double-shock of both the brutality of the act itself and the notion of someones daughter/mother/sister/wife as the instigator. Summing up the importance of the oxygen publicity affords terrorist organisations,  [17]  Front de Libà ©ration Nationale (FLN) leader Ramdane Abane asks rhetorically, Is it preferable for our cause to kill ten enemies in an oue d [dry riverbed] of Telergma when no one will talk of it, or a single man in Algiers which will be noted the next day by the American press?  [18]   Not only do female terrorists elicit more coverage, boosting both the fear a given attack elicits and the number of potential recruits reached, the type of coverage received is also different from that given to their male colleagues. Coverage of acts committed by women provide[s] more detail about possible motivations of the individual, while actions committed by men [are] explained more often in terms of the groups motivation.  [19]  (My emphasis.) Indeed, female terrorists also increase the likelihood that the social conditions, discrimination, and hardships experienced by a given group will be featured in the news media,  [20]  representing a significant incentive for particular organisations to use women over men. While suicide terrorism exemplifies vividly the impact female terrorists can have, other roles for women in political violence should not be overlooked. In terms of their roles away from the front lines of terrorism, women in extremist organisations were in the past often confined to less-active duties, such as healthcare provision, intelligence gathering, and even maintenance of safe houses for more-active terrorists. Some still do play these roles, and recent studies of terrorism and the internet have unearthed evidence of women now also playing the role of scholar, translating for their male counterparts and interpreting religious texts. In addition, females can boost depleted numbers of combatants, be it by joining the ranks themselves or by providing jihad wombs.  [21]  They also contribute by using their maiden names to open bank accounts (to avoid attracting the attention of antiterrorism agencies), and even raising money for terror groups through charity functions.  [22 ]   Does all this make a woman the perfect terrorist? While women hold many comparative advantages over men eliciting less suspicion, holding greater shock value, and even remaining engaged in terrorism longer than do men on average  [23]   some factors make women less attractive. In the face of stereotypes of women as non-violent wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters, it surprises many to learn that female terrorists are viewed by some as more deadly, in that some security forces deem them less likely to hesitate when carrying out a violent mission. One scholar further posits that women terrorists are possessors of a greater capacity for suffering.  [24]  Reasons for this resoluteness can only be speculated about, but the small variations between genders in why individuals engage in terrorism could be relevant: as will be discussed, vengeance is a particularly strong motivator among female extremists and may serve also to sustain a womans interest, and involvement, in a given cause. Counterterrorism recruits in INTERPOL accordingly even follow a shoot-the-women-first policy.  [25]   Other factors can discourage the use of women by terrorists groups: some members may view women as a threat to group cohesion (many groups lean heavily on male bonding to sustain the dynamic needed to commit violence for a given cause), and certain societies frown upon the use of women in combat roles. However, the overwhelming importance of publicity to terrorism seems to outweigh such concerns regarding female terrorists: women extremists occupy more column inches than do their male counterparts. And, with all terrorism, coverage confers the impression of power something all terrorist groups seek to wield. What motivates women terrorists A recent study of what motivates suicide terrorists found that there was little variation between genders in this regard both men and women tend to engage in terrorism for similar reasons. However, a few important differences in motivation were noted, including, among women, vengeance. Having lost a loved one at the hands of a particular groups perceived enemy, a mother, wife, or sister may be more inclined to join that group, and actively engage in terrorism.  [26]  Wafa Idris felt personally aggrieved by the horrors she witnessed at the Palestinian Red Crescent, by her brothers imprisonment, and at being displaced from Ramallah by Israel. But analysts also cite personal sadnesses she endured, unrelated to her cause, as motivation for her actions: After marriage, Idris had a late miscarriage. The doctors said she could have no more children. Her husbands response was to divorce her and marry again.  [27]  Seldom does one see this type of analysis where male bombers are conc erned; that attacks instigated by females are analysed in greater depth, speaks to the fascination they seem to hold over the media and potential extremists alike. Terrorist recruiters targeting women play into their need to feel involved, which is similar to male-terrorist recruitment, but the reasons for that lack of involvement in society differ. For example, in Central Asia, the Kyrgyz, largely non-violent, terrorist group Hizb-ut-Tabhir (HT), is pursuing the restoration of an Islamic caliphate in the region through allegedly peaceful political means. A recent International Crisis Group report on HT examines why, in a country where women enjoy a secular society and relative equality, they are moved to support HT a movement which appears to marginalise them. The report finds that since Kyrgyzstan, post-independence, lacks a coherent national identity, an Islamic one fills that void. Islams traditional representatives often do not make any appeal to women, whereas HT does, offering both social services and religious education to women. The HT brand of Islam emphasises Islamic sisterhood, and, in conservative areas, where women and girls have few social outlets, gender-segregated HT meetings allow women to mix with other women and reap the benefits of such interactions.  [28]   The type of marginalisation that, in various Western societies, fuelled womens liberation movements, is replaced in other, less-free societies (where rights are fiercely withheld), by the appeal of extremism. Rather than agitation for gender equality, which is notoriously elusive in some societies, a minority of women turn to other causes, which give them a sense of belonging and the opportunity to be involved in the types of groups previously unavailable to them. From these examples particularly that of HT in Kyrgyzstan it is clear that marginalisation by society at large makes individuals more vulnerable to the appeal of extremism. In the case of women specifically, it could be extrapolated that the very marginalisation they experience as a result of gender inequality, is played on by terrorists to bring them into sphere of extremism, increasingly as active participants. As will be discussed, terrorism can seem like a more alluring pursuit to women in those societies where their rights, gender and otherwise, are curtailed perhaps even suicide can seem appealing. But we must note that gender serves as little incentive in itself to commit violence, and neither sex seems moved to carry out terrorist attacks based on gender alone. What should be taken away from these observations is that outlets need be given to empower women in those societies where extremism is most likely to fill the empowerment vacuum. In essence, marginalisation based on gender is something of a force multiplier where fertile ground for extremism already exists. Women as Enablers of Terrorism In number, women are not equal to men, constituting more than half of the world population, and in their traditional roles as mothers, wives, sisters, and girlfriends females may impact every facet of terrorist activity. It is in this that they have been cited as motivation for other terrorists to engage in violence, as well as as reason to disengage, which will be elaborated later on. Women terrorists also appear to reach a wider audience where terrorist recruitment is concerned; the cults of personality female terrorists attract can serve to inspire would-be extremists and build support for a given cause. In their non-violent roles, also, women in specific communities actively recruit terrorists: In Syria, similar to the tactics of HT in Kyrgyzstan, sisterhood organisations proselytise extreme religious doctrine; while, in Pakistan, the mujahidaat are women who engage in collective non-violent endeavors geared towards recruiting and supporting violent extremist groups. In 2008, 1,000 women in Lebanon marched to show their support for Hezbollah; and, in Gaza, women gathered to form a human barrier between Israeli forces and militants hiding in a mosque in 2006.  [29]  These examples of women enabling terrorism and facilitating warfare can be ascribed to the types of discontent that motivate all terrorists, but, for women in societies where their rights are oppressed on the grounds of gender, something further can be inferred: gender equality in other aspects of life would remove a layer of discontent that contributes to terrorism. The cult of personality that the female terrorist seems to attract is also important in the recruitment and inspiration of other terrorists. Indeed, women seem more likely to receive such attention than men, thus further prolonging media interest something on which terrorist groups thrive. Leila Khaled, a Palestinian hijacker with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), drew much public attention for the very fact of her gender.  [30]  Aged just twenty-one years, Khaleds involvement in the 1969 hijacking of a passenger flight received wide coverage, in a way very appealing to terrorist recruiters: Her sexuality was always emphasisedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ She is the pin-up of armed struggle; like her hero, Che Guevara, Khaled had the glamour as well as the belief.  [31]  Her role morphed into one of a cultural icon, foreshadowing that of Wafa Idris, who also seemed to fascinate commentators: The Arab press glorified Idris. One Egyptian newspaper compared her to the Mona Lisa, registering her dreamy eyes and the mysterious smile on her lips. Others cited Joan of Arc, or the Virgin Mary.  [32]  Khaled and Idris attracted an entirely different type of media coverage than do their male counterparts. Very rarely if ever do male suicide bombers make headlines based on their physical attractiveness. But the media coverage paid dividends for their respective organisations. Following her death, Idris attracted copycats: more women suicide bombers materialised in the West Bank: One [female suicide bomber], a 21-year-old English-literature student named Darin Aisheh, detonated explosives in her car at a military checkpoint in February, wounding three policemen. Andaleeb Takafka, 20, killed herself and six others, and injured 104 people in April, using explosive tied to her waist. Ayat Akhras, 18, blew herself up outside a Jerusalem bus stop a month earlier.  [33]   In terms of traditional (or non-suicide) terrorism, female role models have also had a place in history. Ulrike Meinhof of the Red Army Faction, active in Germany in the 1970s, famously directed her groups campaign, which, unlike most other terrorist organisations, actually cited womens liberation as a strand of its goals. For many years the most famous female terrorist, Meinhof has been credited with inspiring German terrorism,  [34]  and has been the subject of numerous books and a handful of films. Indeed, in 1981 ten of the fourteen most-wanted terrorists in West Germany were female.  [35]  Bernadette Devlin, a vocal supporter of the Irish Republicanism, became the youngest female Member of the British Parliament (in a high-profile effort to champion Irish independence) and drew much attention, both for the fact of her age and her gender. Like Meinhof, she inspired much interest, even gaining the nickname Fidel Castro in a miniskirt. A biopic about her is in production.  [36]   As well as female suicide bombers spurring imitators, and other female terrorists becoming figureheads for their causes, the actions of women not actually active in terrorism, but rather in encouraging terrorists, can have devastating consequences. Among extremists, suicide bombers are lauded as heroes, in a way deeply disturbing to the moderate majority. As such, some families, mothers in particular, aspire to have their sons sacrificed as martyrs: Families of martyrs are honoured as family members of someone who gave his life to the cause. Many speak of their sons, husbands, or brothers commitment, dedication, and the pride felt by society.  [37]  Indeed, the glamorisation of martyrdom appears to be perpetuated by the families, spouses, and partners, which speaks to both womens role in radicalising moderates and their potential for de-radicalising the extreme. Just as military traditions can span generations within families, with son after father, after grandfather, enlisting i n the armed forces, traditions of extremism can also perpetuate. While men are naturally equally, and perhaps more, guilty of this sort of encouragement (in terms of offspring turning to terrorism) that women are being singled out in counterterrorism for their potential to de-radicalise their husbands, brothers, and sons speaks to the importance of their role in radicalisation. As does the example of Bernadette Devlin, whose experience can perhaps be cited as evidence of the role of families (mothers specifically) in actually enabling their children in the pursuit of extremism: her daughter, Rà ³isà ­n McAliskey, was arrested in Germany in connection with an IRA bombing of a British Army barracks there.  [38]  This speaks to the role of mothers in influencing offspring towards terrorism, and exemplifies what it is that newer counterterrorism programmes seek to prevent. (The roles of women in de-radicalisation and prevention will be examined in the next section of the paper.) Returning to the example of suicide martyrs, male bombers and their families often cite the promise of seventy-two virgin brides awaiting them in heaven upon completing their missions as part of their motivation.  [39]  An attack carried out by al-Qassam in 1994 demonstrates the encouragement families provide to some terrorists: The bombers family and the sponsoring organization celebrate his martyrdom with festivities, as if it were a weddingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Often, the mother will ululate in joy over the honor that Allah has bestowed upon her family.  [40]   Indeed, in different ways, potential terrorists are encouraged by extremist groups and by those in their social network to engage in terrorism, but the differences between the two genders in these respects merit examination. With women holding so much potential in terms of counterterrorism, the exact nature of their role in enabling terrorism should also be better understood. Women as Preventers of Terrorism While women are cited as motivation to enter into violent extremism, much evidence exists of their roles in facilitating disengagement from terrorism and in otherwise thwarting terrorist activity.  [41]  In removing their children from cultures of extremism or preventing their falling prey to extremism in the first place, by becoming intelligence officers, and even as spouses involved in the rehabilitation of extremists, women make very effective counterterrorists. Counterterrorism programmes worldwide are beginning to focus more on softer measures than the military- and police-centred approaches increasingly seen in the aftermath of 11 September 2001, favouring instead de-radicalisation through education and dialogue, as well as increases in aid and poverty-alleviation policies. In these newer de-radicalisation programmes, terrorists and other violent extremists are rehabilitated in various ways, often including education in the true peaceful meanings of religious texts, and ar e usually given a more solid grounding in social networks removed from their previous extremist affiliations. In this section, examples of extant terrorism-prevention and terrorist-rehabilitation programmes with women at their centres are examined. Given that the group dynamic afforded by terrorist organisations for individual members often replaces that persons family, strengthened family and relationship ties can help facilitate a persons disengagement from a particular cause, i.e., to provide them with a non-violent, appealing alternative to terrorism. Indeed, Bjà ¸rgo and others highlight the importance of avoiding a social vacuum, when a terrorist repents, and women can play a fundamental role in this.  [42]  In his study of what moves right-wing extremists to de-radicalise, he asserts that gaining and upholding family commitments, including getting a girlfriend (or boyfriend), are among the strongest motives for leaving a cause behind.  [43]  As such, programmes exist to facilitate not just finding employment, but entering into marriage, all as part of the rehabilitation of violent extremists.  [44]   A Moroccan initiative that focuses on women, recruiting them as messengers to present the moderate mainstream Islam as a counterweight to fundamentalist ideology, has met with some success. Spearheaded by the Moroccan King, the initiative seeks to feminize the face of Islam, in order to provide an enlightened alternative to the extremist, often misrepresented brand of Islam terrorist groups employ.  [45]   In Saudi Arabia, a counterterrorism scheme called the Saudi Counselling Programme, has been the most successful and expansive of its kind, and Christopher Boucek posits that this is due in part to its being rooted in respect for cultural and religious traditions.  [46]  It could be extrapolated from this that women, as central figures in every culture, could hold the key to developing societal answers to a given societys terrorism problem, or at least to grounding each initiative in the appropriate culture. A spate of new programmes centred on mothers preventing the radicalisation of their children supports thi

Circle of Gold Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earthly things can be very expensive, but love from a family is priceless, it is expressed in the following passage. By the end of the last hundred pages I’ve read (103-201) in Candy Dawson Boyd’s Circle of Gold, Mattie finally realizes this, as does the readers. Mattie gives her mom a golden pin for mother’s day, which she goes by any means to get, just to bring her family back together. Mattie was a smart â€Å"A† student from Brooklyn, New York. Her only brother and twin brother Matthew is an artist that likes to draw and paint. She lives with her mom and brother, she used to live with her dad but he is deceased. One day, on his way from work some drunk drives hit his car and killed him. That day changed their lives forever. When her father left them, he took a part of everybody with him. Mattie and Mathew were only eleven years old when a lost their father, what a horrible loss, and at such a time that you understand how those things work, and you have feelings, one of the many prime times in your life that you need a father. As a result of this great loss, their family became dysfunctional, nobody cleans the house, her mother is never there because she leaves to work early, and comes home really late, and the kids have to make their own dinner. When her father left the family couldn’t take it, they just fell apart, now her mother is always angry and never smiles. It is unusual to me how all this corruption can be caused by 1 man alone, I mean ...

Modernizing The Crucible Essay -- The Crucible Arthur Miller Witchcraf

Modernizing The Crucible Imagine you are a director who has been asked to direct a modern version of The Crucible. Decide on how you would make the play modern and the kind of setting that you feel is the most appropriate for conveying the themes of the play. In your discussion, you should deal with what you feel are the main themes of the play that you want to focus on and how the setting will enhance and even add depth to what you have to say. Firstly, I feel that in order to make the play as modern as possible, the play has to have a feel which all of its viewers can instantly identify with, as well as being realistic when compared with current world events. Hence the setting which produces the most realistic play, as well as portraying events that viewers can identify strongly with, will therefore be the most appropriate for conveying the themes of the play. I have also decided to elaborate on the themes of hysteria, intolerance, integrity and choosing a scapegoat. For my setting, I will rely heavily on a combination of two world events that, in differen...

The Oppressed People of Burma Essay -- Essays Papers

The Oppressed People of Burma Burma, like many other Southeast Asian nations, is a land of much culture and diversity of ethnic groups. Unfortunately, unlike the people of other nations, the people of Burma have been stripped of their human rights. Since the military junta had overtaken the Burmese government in 1988, the people of Burma have been among the most oppressed people in the world. The continuation of the government’s brutality has caught the attention of many outside nations around the world who increasingly have been intervening in Burma’s issues to help its people. As these occurrences are a major issue for the people of Burma, these problems are not restricted to its boundaries. They are also becoming a problem for some of Burma’s neighboring countries such as Thailand. With a quick look at current events, it is clear that the oppression of the native people in Burma is still in its most intensive state. But first, an introduction of Burma’s background will spark interest as to how a culturally rich country could turn into a land full of people in search of their basic human right -- freedom. Burma is considered the land of rice and teak wood, in addition to its being rich in many other natural resources. The official language is Burmese and the major religions include Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. A population of 49.5 million inhabits the land, in a 261,789 square mile area. The ethnic composition consists of the Burmans, the Shans, the Karns, the Mons, the Chins, the Kachins, as well as a significant population of Indians and Chinese who have migrated from their respective homelands. (Compton’s Encyclopedia) Three-quarters of the population live in rural areas. In recent decades, Burma has bee... ... Larry. â€Å"ASEAN under pressure to use its influence.† Bangkok Post. 15 May 2003. 21 May 2003. http://www.bangkokpost.com/150503_News/15May2003_news24.html Mydans, Seth. â€Å"Officials in Burma deny that dissident was hurt.† International Herald Tribune. 4 June 2003. 4 June 2003. http://www.iht.com/articles/98436.html Srivalo, Piyanart. â€Å"Drugs to top Thai-Burma talks.† Asian Tribune. 30 December 2003. 14 May 2003. http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=1745 Tammachatwichit, Tavorn. â€Å"The Pipeline.† 17 May 2003. http://www.ibiblio.org/freeburma/boycott/oil/pipeline2.html The Nation, â€Å"Door to shut on refugees.† Asian Tribune. 20 December 2002. 14 May 2003. http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=1748 Theparat, Chatrudee. â€Å"Thailand to unveil hub aim at summit.† Bangkok Post. 5 May 2003. 21 May 2003. http://www.bangkokpost.com/050503_Business/05May2003_biz45.html

Isaac Asimov and Entropy

As It's used In Isaac Asimov The Last Question entropy can be thought of as the point In which human existence is eradicated by the heat death of universe. Isaac Asimov used entropy to explain our mortality and show how even if we attain the highest level of technological achievement there is, nothing in this universe can prevent our eventual destruction. Vim's Watson recently competed on Jeopardy! Against the TV quiz shows two biggest all-time champions (Jackson). Developed by IBM Research, Watson Is able to categorize vast volumes of information and using sophisticated algorithms built for searching known facts Jackson).Watson can then answer questions in natural language (Markova). Watson is an information seeking tool that's capable of understanding human enquires in order to deliver that content through a naturally flowing dialogue. Watson consistently outperformed its human opponents on the show, winning $1,000,000 that was donated to charity (Markova). Multiple, in The Last Qu estion , Is a similar computational machine, but what makes It ultimately superior than any computer we have today is its ability to actually think.Watson can only answer questions with known facts. It can't answer the unknown any better than pure speculations. Multiracial was eventually able to reverse entropy, creating the oral anew (Asimov). Keith Chilled, from Lancashire, England, Is attempting to create a machine that produces work Indefinitely (Roach). Such a device would violate the axioms of thermodynamics. Perpetual motion machines are machines that are supposed to neglect the laws of thermodynamics and continuously turn work back into work with perfect efficiency (Y. V. C. Raw ).One of the three laws of thermodynamics states that the amount of entropy in the universe can only increase making Chiding's machine impossible to build (Y. V. C. Raw ). The theoretical scientific exploration of the ultimate fate of the human species always begins and concludes with the laws of the rmodynamics (Ben-Anal). Entropy can be called the universal harbinger of the end of time (Ben-Maim) . The Last Question revolves around an artificial, learning supercomputer that is unable to save the human species from extinction and the threat of heat death (Asimov).Even with advances in science and technology throughout the story, the computer remains unsure about the future of Its creators. Nothing lasts forever. Even the youngest stars on the most distant planets will Turn out IT given enough time. Natural silence tells us Tanat everything In nature Is subject to entropy. Entropy is a central element in Isaac Asimov's famous short story that continuously plagues the human population with its definitive ending. Multicasts actions create a new Big Bang, thus resetting entropy and time (Asimov).

Banking and Finance Article Summary

Yu-Chen Lin 1521007128 Sec: 5351 Reading Article Taxes: Everyone should pay the taxes when they start to working, properly no one want to pay the taxes. In this article, it makes me know more about taxes, it show us many kinds of taxes. Mostly the countries are pay for two placed which are local government and central state. Property and income taxes are usually what we should have to pay. This also let us know some rules of taxation by Smith, these rules makes us know how and why they set to rule in reasonable so make sure not many people will complain.Of course we know that if you earn more money you will have to pay more taxes. It’s very fair and those taxes we pay for government are making us have a strong and great country to live. Home-Owning and house price: In this article, it talks about buying the house and selling. As we know buying a house is not easy, sometime we need to borrow money from the bank and loan. Some people are using buying and selling house as a busin ess. Related essay: Herbert Simon â€Å"Proverbs of Administration† SummaryWhen the price of house is booming meaning that the price of the house will be going up, the easy way to know the price of house is high or not by looking at the economic of the country. So when we going to buy the house, make sure that we are not buying the highest price or else when you going to sell it the price of the house will be very low. Economic is the most important thing that we have to see while we are going to buy a house. Unemployment: Unemployment is a very serious problem that will occur in every country.There are many reasons that could cause the unemployment, the main reason that will make the high unemployment is economic, and also GDP, inflation or interest rates are taking some parts of it. The article tell us that the definition of unemployment. Unemployment rates is mean that the percentage of people who don’t have job. This can teach us know when unemployment rate increase and what we should do during the high unemployment rate. Environmental economic: In this article is telling us about how Environmental could be very serious that will affect the economic.The climate change is the main reason for economic. Taking the example on the article because of the global warming, the sea level is rising which cause the flood, when it’s the flood will occur, its will really effect the country or cities economic growth. Another problem is Pollution, mostly no one care about the pollution but the scientist has telling us we need to taking this problem serious now, because the global greenhouse gas is increasing about 15%~20% per year. Bond Markets: In this article, it is talking about the bond market.There are still many different kinds of bonds. The main reason that some of people choose the bond market its because the Bonds will makes you gets more interest back than the banks can give you, but its also have peril that you might lose you money because of the some reason like interest rate. It also telling us the origins of bonds, Nathan Rothschild is the smart man that using the bonds and he because very rich, he has a great influence and famous in Europe. After reading this article makes me know about the bond market and how does it work.

Development of In Vitro Fertilization Essay

Robert G. Edwards was born on September 27, 1925 in Batley, Yorkshire, UK. Before he got into the medical field, he served in World War II before studying biology at the University of Wales in Bangor and Edinburgh University in Scotland. There, he received a PhD in 1955 with a thesis on embryonal development in mice. In 1958, he became a staff scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research in London and initiated his research on the human fertilization process. Five years later, he began his academic career in the reproductive physiology department was spent in Cambridge, UK, where he and gynecologist, Patrick Steptoe started the world’s first In Vitro Fertilization centre, the Bourn Hall Clinic. Edwards was the research director for the clinic for several years and had also edited many leading scientific journals on fertilization. He currently teaches at the University of Cambridge. As early as the 1950s, Edwards envisioned that In Vitro Fertilization could be a very useful treatment for infertility. He worked in steps – from systematically determining his goal, discovering principles for human fertilization, and succeeding in accomplishing fertilization of human egg cells in test tubes, or cell culture dishes. First of all, infertility, a medical and psychological problem, affects 10% of all couples in the world. This causes lifelong psychological trauma for these couples and the fact that medicines have limited opportunities to help them, there is little hope for them to conceive. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an established therapy when sperm and egg cannot meet inside the body. After previous research had shown that egg cells from rabbits could be fertilized in test tubes when sperm was added, giving rise to offspring, Edwards decided to investigate further if similar methods could be used for humans. In experimental studies conducted together with several different co-workers, he made a great deal of encouraging discoveries. Findings proved how human eggs mature, how different hormones regulate their maturation, and the time in which eggs are susceptible to the sperm. In 1969, his efforts met with success when a human egg was fertilized in a test tube. In spite of his success, the fertilized egg did not develop more than a single cell division. He suspected that eggs had matures in the ovaries before they were removed for IVF would work better, and looked for different ways to obtain eggs in a safer way. While Steptoe used the laparoscope to remove eggs from the ovaries, Edwards put the eggs in cell culture and added sperm. Embryos started to from after the egg cells divided several times. Though the studies were promising, the Medical Research Council did not fund a continuation of the project. However, a private donation allowed the work to continue. By analyzing the patients’ hormone levels, they could determine the best time point for success. In 1977, Lesley and John Brown arrived at the clinic after nine years of trying to have a baby. IVF treatment was carried out and once the fertilized egg had developed into an embryo with eight cells, it was returned to Lesley Brown and on July 25, 1978, a healthy baby girl named Louise was born through C-section after a full-term pregnancy. It was then that IVF moved from a vision to reality and a new era in medicine begun. Gynecologists and cell biologists from different countries trained at the Bourn Hall Clinic and the original methods of IVF were refined. By 1986, a thousand children had been born after IVF in the world. To this day, IVF is an established therapy throughout the world and has undergone several improvements, including single sperm being microinjected directly into the egg cell in the culture dish. IVF is safe – 20-30% of fertilized eggs lead to the birth of a child. With most procedures and attempts, there are risks of complications, such as premature birth, but they are very rare. As of 2010, approximately four million individuals have been born thanks to IVF. Louise Brown and many other IVF children have even given birth themselves, adding to the success and safety of this therapy. A new field of medicine had emerged, with Edwards heading the process. â€Å"His contributions represent a milestone in the development of modern medicine. †

History of Biligual Education Essay

My project was to go and find out about bilingual education’s history, process, and the experts in the field of bilingual education. Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages fluently. Bilingualists study Bilingualism and bilingual education, which is teaching all subjects in school through two different languages. Bilingual Education was first adopted in Ohio in 1839, due to the increase of German-Americans (Rethinking). By the end of the 19th century, many states had adopted bilingual education laws to meet the demands of new immigrants due to industrialization. When World War I came many Americans changed their views of bilingual education, due to the fear of German-Americans and the government’s new Americanization policies, including English-only instruction. It wasn’t until the Civil Rights Movement Era and the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, when bilingual education was reintroduced into the United States. â€Å"The court’s decision in th e landmark Lau v. Nichols case required schools to take â€Å"affirmative steps† to overcome language barriers impeding children’s access to the curriculum. Congress immediately endorsed this principle in the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974.†(Rethinking). In California, bilingual education was banned until 1967. In 1967, Governor Ronald Reagan signed legislation (SB 53) that authorized bilingual education, before the Bilingual Education Act of 1968. A blow for bilingual education came in 2002, when President George Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act got rid of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, changing the way people look at bilingual education. In 1998 California, under Ron Unz’s Proposition 227, reverted Ronald Reagan’s SB 53. This Proposition later confirms Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act and the country’s renewed interest in English only instruction, due to the Iraq War. Many critics of bilingual education believe that bilingual education is failed, but proponents of bilingual education feel bilingual education is a better option than English-only instruction. Critics of bilingual education believe that children who receive bilingual education will not be able to help students learn English as well as English-only students. One of the critics of bilingual education, Rosalie Pedalino Porter of the Institute for Research in English Acquisition and Development (READ), believes that â€Å"the expectations for bilingual schooling were threefold: better and more rapid learning of English; better mastery of school subjects; and higher self-esteem among students, which could lead to higher academic achievement and fewer school dropouts. Unfortunately, none of these goals was achieved†¦The goal [of English immersion] is threefold: early literacy development in English, subject matter instruction in English with a special curriculum, and early inclusion of LEP students in mainstream classrooms for maximum exposure to native speakers of English and for greater integration of diverse student populations†(Porter). However, â€Å"controlled studies consistently show that children in such properly organized bilingual classes acquire at least as much English as those in all-English classes and usually acquire more†(Krasen). Another proponent of bilingual education, Jay Greene provided research that â€Å"the use of the native language in instructing limited English proficient children has â€Å"moder ate beneficial effects† and that â€Å"efforts to eliminate the use of the native language in instruction †¦ harm children by denying them access to beneficial approaches†(Greene). In addition to the belief that children who receive bilingual education will not be able to help students learn English as well as English-only students, critics of bilingual education believe that the passage of Proposition 227, caused test scores to increase. Proponents of 227 from the READ Institute argue that, the test scores from 1998-2000, show that minority English language learning students in California have done better on the SAT 9 test than those in bilingual education had done before (Mora). Kenji Hakuta, shows in his article, Points on SAT-9 Performance and Proposition 227, â€Å"test scores rose in districts in California that kept bilingual education, as well as in districts that never had bilingual education† (Hakuta). In addition, â€Å" Scores increase about 1.5 to 2 points per year after a new test is introduced. Thus, test score inflation accounts for about half of the increase in grades two and three in the SAT9 reading test since 1998, and all of the inc rease in grades four through seven SAT9 reading scores in California have actually declined slightly in grades eight through eleven†(Linn et. al). Research done by these bilingualists show that Proposition 227 has not increased the minority English language-learning students in California’s English skills. Critics of bilingual education believe that poorly trained teachers and complicated bilingual education structures cause more confusion than English-only programs. Susan Headden, writing in U.S. News & World Report, comments, â€Å"Poorly trained teachers further complicate the picture. . . . The paucity of qualified candidates has forced desperate superintendents to waive some credentialing requirements and recruit instructors from abroad. The result is teachers who themselves struggle with English† Advocates cite that just because bilingual education needs improvement doesn’t mean it should be eliminated. Critics of bilingual education look at the success of Canada’s French immersion policy in schools. In kindergarten and first grade native-English speakers are taught entirely in French. Then gradually, English is introduced and by the end of elementary school, most students become fluent in French and English. However, more impressive is the bilingual education of European countries. Since there are eleven different official languages of the European Union, students are taught multiple languages .The study of first foreign language begins in first year of primary school, then an additional language is added in the second year of secondary school and the fourth year of secondary school. By the time students exit college with a Baccalaureate degree, they will know at least four languages. From, my research I was able to find proponents and critics of bilingual education. I noticed that there were many more proponents of bilingual education, among them are Kenji Hakuta of Stanfor d University, Colin Baker of the University of Wales, Stephen Krashen of the University of Southern California, Wayne P. Thomas and Virginia Collier at George Mason University, and Jim Cummins of the University of Toronto. Critics of bilingual education include politicians, George Bush, Susan Headden, and Rosalie Pedalino Porter. Perhaps we should be looking to other nations to solve our educational issues, as neither English-only nor bilingual education seems to work. References *Based on an Analysis by National Association of Bilingual Education. (2002, Winter). History of Bilingual Education. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bilingual/langhst.shtml * Greene, J. (1997). A meta-analysis of the Rossell and Baker review of bilingual education research. Bilingual Research Journal , 21(3), 103-122. *Hakuta, K. (2000). Points on SAT-9 Performance and Proposition 227. Lecture presented at Stanford University , Cubberley Hall 228, 485 Lasuen Mall Stanford, California. *Headden, S. (1995, September 25). One Nation, One Language? U.S. News & World Report, 38+. Retrieved May 10, 2007, from http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/articles/onenation.html *Krasen, S. (1996). Under Attack: The Case Against Bilingual Education. Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates. *Linn, R., Graue, E., & Sanders, N. (1990). Comparing state and district test results to national norms: The validity of claims that ‘everyone is above average. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice , (9), 5-13. *Mora, J. K. (n.d.). What Do the SAT-9 Scores for Language Minority Students Real ly Mean? Retrieved May 10, 2007, from San Diego State University Web site: http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/SAT9analysis.htm *Porter, R. P. (1999, December). The Benefits of English Immersion. Educational Leadership, 1(57), 52-56.